Twelve Years of Governance Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi: An Appraisal of Policy, Promise, and Performance

The calendar year 2026 marks the completion of a dozen full years since the ascendance of Narendra Damodardas Modi to the office of Prime Minister of the Republic of India, a period during which the executive branch has repeatedly proclaimed an agenda of transformative development, fiscal rectitude, and cultural rejuvenation, whilst the nation's administrative apparatus has been tasked with translating these proclamations into measurable outcomes across a nation of over 1.4 billion souls.

Among the most frequently cited achievements of this era are the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax in July 2017, a sweeping indirect‑tax reform intended to subsume a bewildering multiplicity of state and central levies, whose introduction was heralded as a stride toward fiscal uniformity yet was accompanied by initial compliance challenges, revenue volatility, and a prolonged period of adjustment for small enterprises lacking sophisticated accounting capacities.

Concurrently, the 2016 demonetisation exercise, characterised by the sudden invalidation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes, was presented by the government as a decisive strike against black money and counterfeit currency, but post‑implementation analyses have highlighted disruptions to cash‑dependent informal sectors, prolonged queueing at banking institutions, and an ambiguous quantification of the purported fiscal recuperation.

The government's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, launched in October 2014 with an ambitious target of eliminating open defecation by October 2019, has undeniably accelerated the construction of household latrines, yet independent surveys continue to document persistent gaps in usage, maintenance deficits, and regional disparities that call into question the veracity of declared national sanitation statistics.

Infrastructure initiatives, notably the Bharatmala Pariyojana and the Sagarmala programme, have been catalogued as monumental undertakings to expand road connectivity and develop coastal logistics hubs, respectively; while satellite imagery and transport ministry data confirm the inauguration of numerous highways and ports, critics observe that project timelines often exceed original estimates, cost overruns are frequently understated, and the socio‑environmental assessments accompanying such ventures remain insufficiently transparent.

On the diplomatic front, the Modi administration has cultivated a pronounced emphasis on strategic partnerships, exemplified by the bilateral agreements signed with the United States, Japan, and the European Union, alongside a robust engagement with the Indian diaspora; nevertheless, scholars of international law point out that certain trade provisions and defence procurement arrangements have drawn scrutiny for their alignment with domestic procurement regulations and for the opacity of negotiation processes.

Given the considerable public expenditure allocated to digital inclusion programmes, such as the Digital India initiative, which promises universal broadband access and e‑governance services, how does the persistent digital divide in rural jurisdictions, evidenced by unequal internet penetration rates exceeding forty percent in some states, reflect upon the government's evidentiary responsibility to substantiate claims of nationwide connectivity, and what mechanisms exist to compel the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to furnish granular audit reports that reconcile projected subscription metrics with on‑the‑ground service availability?

In light of the recurring controversies surrounding the agricultural reform statutes enacted in 2020, which were subsequently repealed after extensive farmer protests, to what extent does the episode expose deficiencies in the legislative drafting process, particularly regarding stakeholder consultation protocols, impact assessments mandated by the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the capacity of parliamentary committees to enforce procedural safeguards that could prevent the promulgation of statutes later deemed incongruent with constitutional agrarian rights?

Published: June 9, 2026